Hey guys. I've got a cobra cb (not sure of the exact model; will look tomorrow. It has soundtracker) and there is something wrong.

It works fine until I hit a bump *sometimes* and it will go out. All channels nothing but silence. No static or anything. If I switch to the weather channel, it works fine.

I've found that I can make it work by hitting the cb but I hate to do this because, well, I don't like abusing my electronics.

Any ideas? Can these kinda things be repaired or am I better off finding another cb? (this will be number 3)

 

First, make sure all your connections are tight. I know it's crazy, but the mic not being screwed into the radio all the way will cause all kinds of stupid things to happen.

On many radios, what you're describing can possibly be a problem in the mic cord. Everything runs through the mic on a lot of radios and I think that Cobra is one of them. This could especially be true if the mic has been stretched to far, or has been dropped, or has the short and fat cord, which is the cheaper one that comes stock on most of them. Either way, make sure the mic is screwed on good. I know that occasionally, every hundred thousand miles or so, my Uniden in my semi will start wanting to quit and I'll find that the mic isn't screwed onto the radio good.

If it's still doing it, a CB shop should be able to fix it for a lot less than another one would cost.

For giggles, make sure the SoundTracker is off. I wouldn't turn it on, anyway. Ever. I don't know what the were trying to do with that, but it wasn't successful. My Uniden has some sort of bullcrap that's like that. It does the exact same thing to my radio that SoundTracker does to Cobras I've had, so I leave it off, too.

 

Thanks. I did double check all the connections and the first thing I suspected was the mic had a short or the coax had a short but no dice. I need to hit the actual cb. I don't know if there are any cb shops around me is there any place I could possibly ship it to get it fixed?

 

It's a cobra 18 WX ST btw.

 

Sounds like you have a loose solder joint internally.
A good CB show might be able to find it and maybe not.
That is a very cheap Cobra version.
I persnally like the Uniden Pro series.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...den-_-72123021
But they don't have great noise cancelling if you have a noisey lines. So you will get some hum from the alternator or blower motor.


I really prefer my export radios, Galaxy 66, Connex 3300, and a few others but since they output to much power they are classified as a HAM radio but easily converted to multi-band to include CB channels although not legal.

Cobra 25 is another great radio that can be tuned to talk very very good and is a favorite be alot of Truck Drivers and doesn't require much more room than the DX18 Cobra.

 

This cb was free. So I really didn't care what is was.

As for the interference, it's hardwired to the battery so no worries there.